Cities and the “Multicultural State”: Immigration, Multi
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CITIES AND THE “MULTICULTURAL STATE”: IMMIGRATION, MULTI- ETHNIC NEIGHBORHOODS, AND THE SOCIO-SPATIAL NEGOTIATION OF POLICY IN THE NETHERLANDS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fullfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Annemarie Bodaar, M.A. * * * * * The Ohio State University 2008 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Mei-Po Kwan, Advisor Approved by: Dr. Eugene J. McCann Dr. Nancy Ettlinger _____________ Dr. Galey Modan Advisor Graduate Program in Geography Copyright by Annemarie Bodaar 2008 ABSTRACT Immigration is widely acknowledged to be a major social issue in Western European countries. In this context, the Netherlands was one of the few countries to commit itself to the ideal of a ‗multicultural state‘. While this policy ideal was intended to maintain the coherence of the increasingly multi-ethnic state, alleviate growing fear and suspicion of immigrants among sections of Dutch society, and overcome growing ethnic segregation in major cities, its implementation has produced a number of contradictions, however. There has been both a massive political shift in favor of anti- immigrant parties, and increases in segregation in the big cities. In this context the Nethelands has recently reconsidered its multicultural programs. While assimilation is gaining ground as the dominant discourse of immigrant integration in a number of liberal states, the Netherlands has experienced the most profound change away from multiculturalism. Dutch cities therefore could be considered laboratories for the analysis of changes in the way state actors and residents across the world are negotiating immigrant incorporation. This dissertation explores how policies aimed at immigrant integration developed, were implemented and how they were negotiated when implemented in specific multi- ethnic neighborhoods and its effects for neighborhoods, cities and the nation. Using a mixed-methods approach - with a qualitative focus – this research contributes to ii our understanding of the multicultural city. Central to the research is the governmentality approach, providing a framework through which to analyze the uneven geographies of policy implementation. Several findings from my research stand out. First, an analysis of state policy documents shows that integration is demanded only of ‗ethnic minorities‘ who are perceived to be a threat for social stability of the nation-state. Secondly, local political and economic context shapes the way negotiation strategies are being developed. In Rotterdam Delfshaven multi-ethnic bonds were created through informal networks, while in Amsterdam Zuidoost immigrant residents used formal ways to secure the inclusion of immigrant residents in neighborhood decision-making processes. Finally, the micro-scale segregated use of squares does create familiarity and acceptance, and in so doing can contribute to changes in attitude and behavior towards immigrants. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In preparing for, researching, and writing this dissertation I owe great debt to many people and institutions in both the US and in the Netherlands. The list is too long to record all of them here, and for those that go unmentioned, please accept my apologies and gratitude. First, I would like to thank the people of Amsterdam and Rotterdam named and unnamed, who generously gave me their time and made available many resources, and without whom this research would not have been possible. This includes many residents who gave me insights in their lives and the various strategies and tactics they were using to feel at home in the neighborhood, city and nation. It also includes all of the policy advisors, planners, politicians, architects and community workers who taught me more than I realized at the time. Of the help in the Netherlands that I received while conducting this research, I owe thanks to many people. Specifically, I want to mention Dr. Jan Rath of the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies (IMES) of the University of Amsterdam for his encouragement and support, and for offering me a position as visiting scholar at IMES while conducting my field research in the Netherlands in 2003-2004, followed by a a post-doc at IMES from 2005 onwards. I would like to thank Lisa Peters, Ilse van iv Liempt and Simone Boogaarts for their friendship and support and my colleagues at the City of The Hague for their encouragement and flexibility in the past months. Second, I am grateful for the intellectual stimulation my fellow graduate students and faculty at Ohio State provided. Writing a dissertation has been a very difficult process for me with lots of ups and downs. It has also been very much a learning process – academically and as a person – which I could not have accomplished without the support of many people. I wish to thank my advisor Eugene McCann for his advice, critical comments, support, encouragement, and foremost his patience with me. Mei-Po Kwan took over the reins as my ―advisor of record‖ for the past four years. I would like to thank her for her time, encouragement and support, and for the good conversations we had in Amsterdam, which made me realize that I needed to get this dissertation written. I also owe Nancy Ettlinger and Galey Modan a great deal for their contributions to both my intellectual development and this project. Third, this project would not have been possible without the initial support that The Office of International Affairs of the Ohio State University provided for a pre-dissertation trip to the Netherlands, and a fellowship of the European Union for attending a summerschool in Italy that allowed me to deepen my empirical and theoretical understanding of urban policy transformations in Europe. My doctoral dissertation research in the Netherlands, from August 2003 to September 2004, was supported by an NSF Doctoral Dissertation Grant. v Fourth, I wish to thank my parents for the support I received through the years. Without their love and continuous support this dissertation would not have been possible. I also want to thank Angèle for her friendship, continuous support, encouragement and help with structuring and writing. While I did not always enjoy those early Saturday morning writing sessions or the phone calls to support me in the writing process, I really needed this support finish this dissertation. Thanks! Delphine for her friendship, encouragement and support, and for all her help with all my administrative matters at OSU, Cecile for her friendship and support, and my brothers and friends in the Netherlands and Columbus for their interest and encouragement throughout the process. Finally, I owe more than I can express to Jeroen, whose love, support and encouragement has given me the confidence and strength to finally finish this piece of work. Annemarie Bodaar Amsterdam, 10 July 2008 vi VITA June 1, 1976…………………………………Born – Amsterdam, The Netherlands 1999…………………………………………M.A. Geography, University of Amsterdam 2000 – 2005…………………………………Graduate Teaching and Research Associate, The Ohio State University 2005 – 2007…………………………………Post-doc Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies (IMES), University of Amsterdam PUBLICATIONS 1. Bodaar, A. ―Amsterdam: A Multicultural Gateway?‖ in M. Price and L. Benton- Short (eds.) Migrants to the Metropolis: The Rise of Immigrant Gateway Cities. Syracuse University Press, 150-173 (2008). 2. Bodaar, A. ―Multicultural Urban Space and the Cosmopolitan ‗Other‘: the contested revitalization of Amsterdam‘s Bijlmermeer‖, in Jon Binnie, Julian Holloway, Steve Millington and Craig Young (eds) Cosmopolitan Urbanism, London: Routledge, 171-186, (2006) 3. Bodaar, A. and J.C. Rath ―Ethnic diversity and public space‖, in Metropolis World Bulletin, (2005). 5. Bodaar, A. Review of Shady practices and gender politics in The Gambia, in Political Geography 21: 845-847. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Geography vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. iv VITA ................................................................................................................................. vii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ xii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xiii Chapters 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Integration, multiculturalism and assimilation ......................................................... 4 1.3 Pim Fortuyn, Theo van Gogh and the rise of anti-multiculturalism ......................... 5 1.3.1 The tragedy of a famous Dutch filmmaker ...................................................... 12 1.4 Immigration and Cities: the Case of the Netherlands ............................................. 17 1.5 Immigration and policy research............................................................................. 23 1.6 Socio-spatial negotiation of policy in multicultural cities ...................................... 25 1.6.1 Goals of research .............................................................................................